More Pee-Wee's Playhouse than Pottery Barn

December 17, 2015 6:09 AM

Where to find quirky home inspiration?

My partner and I are in the process of making some furniture and decor changes to our apartment, and I'm just not finding retailers and inspiration that align with our style. Apartment Therapy's "Happy Modern" section and Jonathan Adler and CB2 get close (we have a lot of CB2's wackier items), but they're not quite daring enough, particularly when it comes to color. We love illustrators like Mark Bell and Gary Panter and Paper Rad, but that stuff doesn't translate to home decor.

The closest thing I can find that aligns is Brooklyn designer, Aelfie, and I'm bought like four things from her in the last two weeks.

Any sources of design inspiration for a couple of semi-classy weirdos?

posted by lunalaguna to Home & Garden (12 answers total)

Marimekko maybe?
posted by veery at 6:16 AM on December 17, 2015 [3 favorites]

It's maybe on the semi- end of the semi-classy scale, but when I want daring home furnishings, I look at IKEA first.
posted by Rock Steady at 6:21 AM on December 17, 2015 [2 favorites]

Urban Outfitters Apartment department can go there sometimes.
posted by WesterbergHigh at 6:27 AM on December 17, 2015 [2 favorites]

Best answer: Nest magazine. You'd have to hunt for back issues, but there is a book.
posted by hydrophonic at 6:41 AM on December 17, 2015

Do you like mid-century style? Retro Renovation has good ideas for a cheery and bright mid-century inspired look. They focus a lot on achieving this look by preserving original mid-century features, but they also have ideas for getting a mid-century look with modern decor.
posted by scantee at 7:15 AM on December 17, 2015 [1 favorite]

Best answer: Todd Selby photographs interiors of artists, designers, hipsters, people with too much money, and weirdos. He also has a book.
posted by littlewater at 7:32 AM on December 17, 2015 [1 favorite]

You may enjoy some of the work of Judson Beaumont, whose stuff is more artsy than functional. If you have the budget for it, you can commission pieces from him. (I did an FPP on him a number of years ago)
posted by Ufez Jones at 8:13 AM on December 17, 2015

Budget Living*, a defunct magazine from the early aughts, might align with your aesthetic. They put together a book, Home Cheap Home; backissues are hard to come by but worth seeking out.

*link goes to an interview with the magazine's editor; magazine itself is curiously absent online, apart from people desperately seeking backissues and similar mags.
posted by apparently at 8:17 AM on December 17, 2015

Magis does beautiful and playful pieces that often remind me of Pee Wee's playhouse - which is a huge compliment in my book! Their Proust chair is reminiscent of Cheery the Chair (not sure of the spelling, but man I used to want a Cheery chair so badly!) They also have a kids line, Me Too, with magical pieces like this flying carpet bench or a birds and cloud mobile. Magis' prices are prohibitively expensive for me and probably most people, but their website is still definitely inspiring!
You also could check out design sponge for ideas, although I'm betting you have already.
posted by areaperson at 8:53 AM on December 17, 2015

You need the "eclectic" filter on houzz.com!

http://www.houzz.com/photos/eclectic

Some of the "eclectic" photos will probably be too boring but I think everything to your taste will be found under that label.
posted by somedaycatlady at 6:18 PM on December 17, 2015

You may be interested in Memphis.
posted by rhizome at 6:23 PM on December 17, 2015 [1 favorite]

You don't need daring furniture if it's in a daring setting. If your chairs are boring, get better wallpaper.
posted by Sys Rq at 6:53 PM on December 17, 2015 [1 favorite]